Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

Fine Gael supports this Bill, the principles of which have received strong endorsement from my colleagues in County Clare, County Limerick and the rest of the mid-west region. As a result of this legislation, which provides for the creation of preclearance areas in Dublin and Shannon airports, passengers at those airports will be able to pass through US customs, immigration and security checks in Ireland before they depart for the United States. It is anticipated that this measure will have a positive effect on the travelling experiences of such people. It will benefit Dublin and Shannon Airports, in particular, while improving the tourism and general infrastructures of those areas. I hope this Bill will allow Shannon Airport to develop as a much more dynamic hub. It may well become a European centre for low-cost flying. Low-cost operators might be able to fly into Shannon, secure preclearance and move on to airports in the US that do not currently need customs clearance. In other words, people might be able to go to the US as if they were going on an internal flight.

The Bill before the House should bring about significant cost savings for carriers that fly into airports other than the major ones about which we are well used to hearing — the New York airports, for example — and should benefit the tourism and business sectors in the mid-west region. It is important that agreement has been reached to provide full preclearance facilities at Dublin and Shannon airports, as it will benefit both airports. This exclusive agreement between the United States and Ireland gives a crucial competitive advantage to Ireland's two main airports, by comparison with airports in the rest of Europe. I note the Minister's comments in that regard. I hope the Government will insist on the full development of this new arrangement, for example by engaging in a serious and sustained marketing campaign, aimed at European and international airlines and tourism markets.

I thank the research unit of the Oireachtas Library for giving me information on passenger numbers at Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports between 2004 and 2008. The number of passengers going through Shannon Airport dropped from 3.6 million in 2007 to 3.1 million in 2008. The number of transatlantic passengers using the airport decreased from 746,000 in 2007 to 574,000 in 2008. The significant marked decline in the number of passengers going through Shannon Airport has clearly had a significant downstream impact on jobs and services in the area. The airport's overall passenger numbers decreased by 12.5% between 2007 and 2008, while transatlantic passenger numbers fell by 23% during the same period. The importance of the transatlantic routes to Shannon Airport is apparent from the share of passenger traffic accounted for by such routes. In 2007, for example, transatlantic passengers accounted for 21% of total passenger traffic from Shannon Airport. I note the Minister's comments about Aer Lingus's intention to withdraw some of its services from Shannon Airport. I refer in particular to the New York service. Following sustained local and national pressure, the airline has agreed to continue the services for a period of time. The Minister mentioned that he was concerned about the impact such a withdrawal might have had on this entire proposal. Following his meeting with the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, he said he was happy that this commitment continues to be in place.

It is important that we consider this legislation as a mark of the historic and good relationship between Ireland and the US over many years. I understand that a delegation from the US Congress is visiting the Oireachtas today. The members of the delegation are very welcome. It is important that Ireland has historically had such a close relationship with the US. My brother, Niall O'Dowd, has met many of the key decision-makers in the US. He encourages and supports the ongoing commercial and business relationship between the two countries. The Bill under discussion is a testament to the value the US puts on its relationship with a small country like Ireland. It demonstrates the importance the US authorities attach to the relations between the two countries. We can fly it as a flag of recognition of that relationship. I hope it will continue and that there are benefits, not just for the Irish people but also for the United States.

The US Homeland Security Secretary, Mr. Michael Chertoff, identified the following benefits for the United States, and I quote:

We are continually working to identify and mitigate threats before they can reach our shores . . . This agreement will move the screening of certain commercial and private air passenger flights overseas, and as a result make the entry process into the U.S. more secure and efficient upon arrival.

The major benefit for Ireland, in terms of passengers passing through the country, is that once the new preclearance facilities are in place, US-bound passengers out of Shannon and Dublin Airports will have uninterrupted passage to US airports on arrival — and all US customs, immigration and agriculture clearance will now be completed before passengers leave Ireland. Currently, only US immigration facilities are available at both airports. Passengers will now be able to check their baggage through Shannon and Dublin to their final destination in the US, even where this might involve two flights with different airlines. Some of us have had the experience of believing that our baggage was going through only to find when arriving in New York that we could not embark on the second aircraft because our bags had not arrived. This is important and is a very big plus.

The explanatory and financial memorandum states that the Bill does not have significant financial or staffing implications for the Exchequer. It does not, however, provide any detailed costings to support this statement and no regulatory impact analysis, RIA document, regarding the Bill has been published. Perhaps the Minister will explain and expand on this on Committee Stage. We very much favour the Bill, but in the interests of transparency and openness, we need to know more about it.

Additional responsibilities will arise for the Garda Síochána and for Revenue officials, which are to be met from within existing sources. Some of those additional responsibilities may include assisting preclearance officers to conduct searches on passengers, goods and aircraft; proving adequate security measures in the light of a potential increase in passenger numbers; and considering actions against the State by a person who is precluded from taking an action against a preclearance officer. There are significant costs there which the Minister might comment on.

The Bill allows a levy to be placed on aircraft users by the operating airport. There are some indications regarding the length of preparation that will be required to substitute the preclearance facilities for the previous pre-inspection activities. An article in the Irish Examiner estimated the cost at approximately €20 million in terms of the total cost of all these new services. Again, I would emphasise our support for the Bill while asking the Minister to comment on that.

According to Shannon Airport's schedule of miscellaneous charges for 2009 the charges to airlines for the use of enhanced facilities will increase more than sixfold. The current charge is €1.51 per passenger and this may increase to €10.50 per head. I would ask the Minister to comment on those issues.

I have one final point to raise. Some issues will militate against certain Irish people gaining entry to the United States, whether through this or any other means. If somebody is involved in an inadvertent or small breach of regulations, for instance in regard to filling in a fishing log or whatever, because this is deemed to be criminal office, that at present means the person concerned can be denied admission to the US because of the charge recorded against him or her in terms of the law. I appreciate this is not the specific legislation for dealing with such questions and I am aware Deputy Jim O'Keeffe has published a Bill that seeks to address this issue where clearly, very minor infringements of some rules and regulations debar people with resulting criminal convictions from entry into the US. Will the Minister say whether the Government intends to address these issues in the near future or to support Deputy O'Keeffe's Bill?

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